Unitary control for washing machine agitators and pumps



y 1951 s. l. GABRIELSON 2, 54, 83

UNITARY CONTROL FOR WASHING MACHINE AGITATORS AND PUMPS Filed Dec. 4, 1948 Fig.1.

2 Sheets-Sheet l Inv en tor" 4 S amuel I. G abrielson,

His Attowfneg.

May 22, 1951 I s. GABRIELSON UNITARY CONTROL FOR WASHING MACHINE AGITATORS AND PUMPS '2 Sh'ets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 4, 1948 v m o b? w w W e V Tm m 9 e n P m A s H Patented May 22, 1951 UNITARY CONTROL FOR WASHI G MACHINE AGITATORS AND PUMPS Samuel 1. Gabrielson, Southport, Conn., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application December 4, 1948, Serial No. 63,484

Claims. 1

This invention relates to an improved pump and agitator control for domestic washing machines.

In the merchandising of some types of washing machines, the customer is given the option of having the machine either equipped or not with a drain pump. Frequently, a purchaser who has taken advantage of the initially lower cost of a pumpless machine later wishes to convert to the pump equipped type. It is therefore desirable from the points of view of manufacturing and inventory control to provide a Washing machine to which a pump may be easily attached, either at or subsequent to the time of sale.

It is an object of the invention to provide a pump and control assembly for a domestic washing machine which will require a minimum of structural change to add a drainage pump when desired and in which the agitator control lever also becomes the pump control lever, without change in structure or method of operation.

It is another object of the invention to provide a single control for the agitator and the drain pump of a washing machine, which provides individual control of the agitator and the pump and affords the option of operating these devices either singly or in combination.

It is another object of my invention to provide a pump control with which it is impossible to engage the drainage pump accidentally.

In the accompanying drawings, in which presently preferred embodiments of the invention are shown, Fig. 1 is a plan view of one form of the invention, taken in section through the control and drive portion of a washing machine, on lines 5-! of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on lines 2-2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively a fragmentary Side elevation and plan view of a second embodiment. Fig. 5 is a partial side elevation of the washing machine showing the throw of the control handle of the second embodiment. Fig. 6 is a perspective of a portion of the pump and control means common to each embodiment, certain elements thereof being broken away to reveal underlying structure.

The drawings show so much of a domestic washing machine as is necessary for an understanding of the invention. In general, the machine comprises a tub IE! suitably supported by a casing or skirt ll and legs or the like (not shown). A washing mechanism, for example, a conventional bladed agitator i2, is located within the tub. Said agitator is carried by a shaft it which is arranged to be driven in an oscillating motion by suitable gearing, as is well understood in the art. A motor I 5 supported in brackets l6 fixed to a gear case frame I! has a drive shaft extension l8 fitted with a worm gear I9 engagin with a worm wheel 20. A worm wheel shaft 21 extends upwardly and provides driving means for the wringer (not shown). A rack bar 22 is eccentrically pivotally attached to the worm wheel 29. Said rack bar terminate in a rack 23 which is guided for movement either in mesh with or adjacent a pinion 24 fixed to the agitator shaft I 4,, according to whether the agitator is or is not to be operated. The rack guide means may advantageously be a saddle 25 having a tongue 26 riding within a slot formed in the bottom of the rack, as shown in Fig. 2. The saddle is pivotally secured to a plunger 2"! carried by the gear case 28. The plunger is urged outwardly of the gear case by suitable means such as the spring 30. Pivotally carried by a fixed bracket 3! is a cam 32 for cooperation with a rounded head 33 at the end of the plunger 21. As appears from Fig. l, the cam has a dwell position 34 within which the plunger head seats when the rack is to be disengaged from the pinion 24, and a rise or nose ,35 which, upoh rotation of the cam 32 clockwise of Fig. 1, will drive the plunger 21 and its associated rack toward the pinion 24 for the engagement of the rack therewith.

Referring now to Fig. 6, the casing of a pump 36 is carried by a bracket 3! swingably carried by a stub shaft 38 which may be affixed to a motor bracket If; as appears in Fig. 1. Pump 36 may be of any conventional design; usually said pump is of the impeller type. By originally providing said motor bracket with a suitable hole to accommodate a stud provided on the stub shaft 38, the pump and its brackets may be placed in position whenever wanted. The motor shaft may carry, as original equipment, a friction wheel 39 for powering the pump; alternatively, when the pump is to be added at a future time the said wheel may be attached to an existing unit by temporarily disconnecting the shaft couplings 40 to permit the friction wheel to be added. The motor thus provides individual driving means for the agitator and the pump. The pump shaft ii is journaled in suitable hearings in bracket 31 and mounts a friction wheel 42 cooperating with the friction wheel 39. Wheel 42 may be considered as the pump drive means. A spring 43 urges the pump mounting into rotation to bring the friction wheel 42 into pressure contact with the wheel 39. The load on the pump is small, and friction wheels are adequate for power transmission. The respective pump inlet and outlet connections 44 and are flexible so as to permit pump rotation without undue restraint.

A pump shift bar 46 is secured at spaced positions to the casing of pump 36 to constitute a structural component thereof. Said bar extends upwardly over thegear case 28 and terminates in an angular extending leg portion having a sloping cam face 47. Pressure against said cam face will cause the pump to rotate counterclockwise of Fig. 6 to disconnect it from the drive wheel 39.

It is a feature of the invention that a single control lever controls the operation of both the agitator and the pump, either individually or in combination. According to one form of the invention, see Figs. 1 and 2, a lever 48 is provided with a plunger-like end portion supported in an opening in a leg 5| of the angular bracket 3| so as to be movable axially and swingably with respect to said bracket. The extent of the projection of plunger 50 through the bracket leg is such that throughout the entire permitted swing of the lever, the end of the plunger will always be substantially centered on the rearwardly sloping cam face 41 of shift bar 46. When control lever is pushed to the left of Fig. 2, the resulting upward movement of bar 46 will rotate the pump counterclockwise of Fig. 2 to disengage the wheels 39, 42. To engage or disengage the rack 23 and pinion 24, the lever 48 is swung in one or another direction along a slot 52 provided in the skirt This engagement or disengagement is accomplished without interference with the pump control function of the lever by providing an arm 53 on the cam 32, said arm having a forked end through which the lever 48 freely passes. As lever 18 is swung about its pivotal support in the leg 5|, the cam 32 is rotated to effect the positioning of the rack plunger 21.

During pump operation, lever 48 is held retracted from the pump shift bar 46 by an arcuate detent flange secured to skirt below slot 52, and cooperating with a notch 56, in the control lever. With the lever in the withdrawn position, as shown in Fig. 2, a spring 51 secured at its ends to bracket leg 5| and to lever 48 is under tension.

In the extreme right-hand position of lever 48, as viewed in Fig. 2, the resultant rotation of the cam 32 has allowed rack 23 to assume its disengaged position and the agitator shaft M will not be oscillated thereby. At the other extreme position, the nose 35 will have urged the plunger 27 inwardly so as to engage the rack and pinion for agitator oscillation. At either of these positions, or at any intermediate position, the pump drive wheel 42 may be disconnected from the friction wheel 39 merely by lifting the lever 48 so that its notch 56 disengages from the flange 55, whereupon the spring 51 will drive the lever inwardly for engagement of the plunger 50 with the cam surface 41 of shift bar 48 as previously noted. It will be understood that a relatively small movement of the wheel 42 away from its driving wheel 39 will be sufficient to stopjthe The pump may be placed into service again merely by grasping the handle 58 and drawing the lever 43 outwardly until its notch 56 is engaged by the detent flange 55. The pump operation may be restored without disturbing the relationship of the rack 23 and the pinion 24. Because the lever 48 must be lifted against the downwardly acting force of the spring 51 in order to disengage the pump, and must be drawn outwardly against the tension of the spring to restore the pump to service, it is virtually impossible to disengage or engage the pump accidentally.

The embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4 provides for rotation of the control lever in a vertical, rather than a horizontal, plane and therefore places the lever more convenient to the operator. In Fig. 3, the control lever 60 has an extension shaft 6| which terminates in plunger 50. The lever is rotatably supported in bracket arm 5| and an opening 62 in casing said opening being sufficiently large to permit the lever to be raised to release its shoulder 63 from the detent latch 64 when spring 51 is to be permitted to draw the lever inwardly to disengage the pump as previously described.

A yoke 65 secured to shaft 6| has a pin 66 which projects between a forked upright El provided on a cam 68. Said cam is a counterpart of cam 32 of Fig. 1 and operates in the same manner to cause the rack 23 to engage with or disengage from the pinion 24. The operation of the instant embodiment will be readily understood. With lever 60 in the Fig. 5 position, pin 66 will have swung cam 68 counterclockwise about its pivot until the low point of the cam allows the rack to disengage. Rotating lever 60 clockwise of Fig. 5 will cause the cam 68 to drive the rack into engagement with pinion 24. In either lever position, the pump may be controlled by lifting the lever when it is desired to stop the pump, or by pulling outwardly on the lever and permitting shoulder 63 to engage detent 64 when the pump is to be returned to driven association with wheel 39.

The common and yet non-conflicting control of the pump and agitator has substantial practical advantages. For example, the user may withdraw rinse water from the tub while the clothes are being agitated, or if too much wash water has been placed in the tub for the amount of articles therein, any desired quantity of water may be withdrawn without interrupting the washing cycle. Recirculation of wash water during washing may also be made use of as desired by merely hooking the end of the outlet hose 45 over the upper rim of the tub to discharge thereinto, as is well understood.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a clothes washing machine having a tub, a washing mechanism therein, a drive shaft for said washing mechanism, a pump for emptying the tub, said pump having a casing structure and a drive shaft extending therefrom, and a motor common to said washing mechanism and said pump, said motor having driving means individual to said washing mechanism drive shaft and said pump shaft, the improvement which consists of a single control means for placing said washing mechanism drive shaft and said pump shaft individually or jointly into or out of driving connection with their respective driving means, comprising means mounting said pump casing for rotation relative to its said driving means, means normally urging said pump for engagement of its drive shaft with said pump means, a rotatable cam member engageable with the washing mechanism shaft driving means to control its engagement or disengagement therewith according to the direction of rotation of said cam, a support bracket fixed relative to said cam, a control lever rotatably and slidably supported in said bracket and having an end projecting therethrough into close proximity with said pump casing structure, an arm on said cam member slidably engaging said control lever, means for guiding said control lever through a fixed path for rotation of said cam member into its respective positions of engagement or disengagement of said shaft drive means, spring means for driving said control lever against said pump casing structure to move the pump drive shaft out of engagement with its driving means, and a detent for restraining such movement, said spring means acting axially of said control lever so that upon release of said detent the drive of said control lever against said pump structure will not disturb the angular setting of said washing mechanism control cam.

2. In a clothes washing machine having a tub, an agitator therein, a drive shaft for rotating said agitator, a pump for emptying the tub, said pump having a drive Wheel, and a motor common to said agitator and said pump, and having driving means individual to said agitator and said pump, the improvement consisting of a single control means for connecting said agitator shaft and said pump drive wheel individually or jointly to their respective driving means, comprising means for pivotally mounting said pump drive Wheel relative to its associated driving means, means for normally urging said drive wheel into engagement therewith, cam means for moving said pump drive wheel out of engagement with said driving means, rotatable cam means engageable with said agitator driving means for effecting movement of the same into or out of engagement with said agitator shaft according to the direction of rotation of said cam, and a control lever mounted for rotational and axial movement relative to said cams, said first named cam, having a cam face engageable by said lever for rotation of said cam into pump disengaging position upon axial movement of said lever in the direction thereof, and said second cam having means continuously in engagement with said lever for effecting rotation of said cam upon rotation of said lever in one or another direction relative thereto.

3. In a clothes washing machine having a tub, an agitator therein, a drive shaft for rotating the agitator, a pump for emptying the tub, said pump having a drive wheel, and a motor common to said agitator and said pump and having driving means individual to said agitator and said pump, a single control means for connecting said agitator shaft and said pump drive wheel individually or jointly to their respective driving means, including means for pivotally mounting said pump relative to said driving means, with the pump drive Wheel engageable with the driving means for propulsion thereby, cam means for moving said pump for disengaging the same from said driving means, rotatable cam means for effecting the engagement or disengagement of said agitator driving means with said agitator shaft according to the direction of rotation of said cam, and a control lever common to said cams and mounted for swinging and axial movement relative thereto, said first named cam having a cam face engageable by said lever for rotation in pump disconnecting direction upon axial movement of said lever, and said second named cam having means engaging with said lever to effect rotation of said cam upon rotation of said lever in one or another direction relative thereto.

4. In a clothes washing machine having a tub, an agitator therein, a drive shaft for rotating the agitator, a pump for emptying the tub, said pump having a drive wheel, and a motor common to said agitator and said pump and having driving means individual to said agitator and said pump, a single control means for connecting said agitator shaft and said pump drive wheel individually or jointly to their respective driving means, including means for pivotally mounting said pump relative to said driving means, with the pump drive wheel engageable with the driving means for propulsion thereby, a shift bar for controlling movement of said pump Wheel relative to its driving means, rotatable cam means for effecting the engagement or disengagement of said agitator driving means with said agitator shaft according to the direction of rotation of said cam, a control lever swingably mounted with respect to said second named cam and in continuous engagement therewith to move said cam according to the direction of swing of said lever, and means on said control lever engageable with said shift bar to displace the same for separation of the pump wheel and driving means upon axial movement of said control lever in one direction and engagement of said wheel and driving means upon axial movement in the reverse direction.

5. In a clothes washing machine having a tub, an agitator therein, a drive shaft for rotating the agitator, a pump for emptying the tub, said pump having a drive wheel, and a motor common to said agitator and said pump and having driving means individual to said agitator and said pump, a single control means for connecting said agitator shaft and said pump drive wheel individually or jointly to their respective driving means, including means for pivotally mounting said pump relative to said driving means, with the pump drive wheel engageable with the driving means for propulsion thereby, spring means for maintaining the pump wheel in engagement with said driving means, a shift bar for rotating said pump to disengage said drive wheel and said driving means, said shift bar having a cam face, a rotatable cam for effecting the engagement or disengagement of said agitator shaft according to the direction of rotation of said cam, a control lever rotatably mounted relative to said second named cam and engaging therewith to rotate said cam into its respective operating positions upon rotating said control lever, and means on said control lever engageable with the cam surface of said shift bar upon axial movement of said control lever to effect a rotation of said shift bar and its associated pump wheel relative to said driving means.

SAMUEL I. ,GABRIELSON.

REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Jan. 20, 1939 Number 

